The Osceola times., 1887-02-12
DOWN To DEATH.
Frirhtf,l Leap Of a Railway Train
From a Bridge.

u,nsr.a Passenger. Carried Down .
pistance OF sixty Feet. More Than hsn
of Whom Were Either Killed
or Roasted to Death.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt, fep' %
disastrous railroad accident occurred ABOUT
one o'clock this morning at WoodstocK'
VI. about two miles north OF this place
The express which left Springfield, Mass,
at nine o'clock last night, bound ior
Montreal, when near Woodstock ran on
the bridge at that place and two sleepers
and two passenger coaches full OF passen-
gers fell through the bridge distance OF
sixty feet The cars and bridge at once
caught fire, the latter being enurely con
sumed. The exact number OF Killed ana
wounded has not been learned some
place the number at sixteen killed, whiie
others say thirty or forty lost their hVes'
and that a large number were injured
Among those killed Ia Frank Wesson,
the son of ID. Is. Wesson, of Springfield,
Mass. of the rm of Smith & Wesson,
the fre-arm manufacturers. CONDUCTOR
Sturtevapt Of the Inflated train was so
badly burned that it is thought that ne
will die
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt, Feb. D.
Charles NJ Hosmer, of Lowell, book
keeper for Otis, Allen q Son, makes the
following statement:
81 took the train at Lowell; was in
Central Vermont sleeper l remember
twenty-one others including five ladies in
the car, but knew none of them personal.
ly. Several were going TO Montreal
was awakened out of sleep and the first
knew was the humping Of the cars. got
ou nv knees and the car began TO sway
with sickening motion. Then came the
crash and at first all was darkness and con-
| fusion. don't remember that there was
any screams, but there were means and
| calls for help. i found myself pinned
| down by seat, but / broke window ana
somehow or other worked myself out OF
| the car onto the ice. i should think the
car dropped fifty-hve feet. The other
three cars were also on the ice, they hav-
/ ing broken away from the forward part OF
| the train. My clothing, except two shirts
ayi socks, was torn from me In getting
out. | lost everything else. A man who
occupied berth next to me was
struggling amidst the ruins. de
| asked me 70 help him, and l
finally succeeded in extricating him.
| There was lady in the ruins whom we
saved, but she was naked when we took
her from the car. She said she could never
have been taken out IL she had kept her
clothing on. think was the first person
who got out. Mr.. Hutchins, OF Baintree,
who took the train at Concord, escaped,
and assisted in saving others. The lao y
we rescued proved to be Mrs. Dryden, OF
Montreal worked until was so chilled
that could do nothing more"
"a few minutes after the crash the cars
took fire and the flames leaped up to the
bridge and illumined the valley for long
distance. Those who were unable TO es
cape, were soon in the embrace OF death
/ can not now realize the terrible specta-
Gle of the last scene. When the hames
burst out could see imprisoned passen-
gers, either calling for help or insensible
but there was no power TO save them.
Iwaked, or rather crawled to house,
where got some clothing. Our car was
the second OF the sleepers Out Of the
twenty-five in my car, l personally know
that nine at least were saved Mrs
Dryden was seriously injured in the back
| saw two Of those in my ear in the fames
I remember a Montreal trapper who had
been with his club in Boston. He was
saved, but his lady companion was lost
A Mr. Morse OF Springfield, Mass, Is
among the injured at the junction house
A Mr. Mott, hay dealer from New York
State, is also at the junction house. He
will probably recover.
WAS FORCED TO LEAVE MS COMPANION TO
PERISH.
CONCORD, N H., Feb. 5--An occupant OF
the Boston sleeper, whose name could not
be ascertaned, passed through here TINS
afternoon He said that every berth was
occupied. He was awakened by the Jolt
ing of the car, which presently went
over the abutment and, turning over
in its descent, struck the ice on its
roof, which was crushed In. The
narrator, who occupied lower berth, ex-
tricated himself with difficulty, and al
once set TO work TO relieve Boston gen
tleman, who occupied an upper berth. He
worked with energy, but was driven away
by the flames, and became an involuntary
witness TO the death of his companion, wht
was burned before his eyes.
He saw quite a number Of persons res
cued with severe burns. But few bodies
had been taken out when he left. At tina
time 1t was impossible to ascertain TN
number Of victims. He expressed the be
I lleI lndl not HlOTc Nudh AIiih1 "oio hAAiNN'
Ira Chase, of Bristol, who went TO the
wreck on the special from White Rive
junction, says that the Boston sleeper
Pilgrim and the Springfield sleeper
"St. Adams turned bottom up in the fall
Twenty six persons, as far as known, wer'
taken out alive. Two Of these are under
stood to be Mr.. Wesson, Of Springfield
and Ed Brooklebanks. who died soon after
Mr. Chase makes the total number II
the wrecked express about eighty, and tn
number dead between fifty and sixty. II
most cases death probably resulted from
burning rather than drowning. Severa
were penned into the wreck who nigh
have been rescued but for the flames.
AT the point where the train ran owe
the abutment the gorge is a frighttul on
and the cars went down with terrible
crash. The screams Of the injured wer
heartrendng. Assistance speedily cam
from the trainmen and neighboring farm
houses and every thing possible was don,
to relieve the victims
The first coach soon caught fire, and II
few moments the entire train wa
ablaze. Those present were powerless u
stop the fire, and the heat became so in
tense that they were obliged to relinq uis
their efforts to save the suffering, an,
were compelled to retreat to place o
safety for themselves and become unwill
ing and horror-stricken witnesses of tn
holocaust In addition to this, and to adj
to the terrors Of the passengers, tn
weather was intensely cold, and the heroi
rescuers were hindered thereby in thei
work. No water could be obtained I
check and extinguish the flames. The ic
was several inches thick on the river, an
there were no appliances at hand to rails
|